There's really nothing wrong with this from my point of view. I think all major beliefs or lack of should be taught in specific classes so that
students can hear both sides and make their own logical decision on what they believe. It's one side of the coin. Theism is the other. I don't see
how you can teach one and ignore the other. Let everyone know what the options are. Nothing wrong with that.

In a historic move that will cheer Richard Dawkins, atheists in Ireland have secured the right to teach the republic's primary schoolchildren
that God doesn't exist.

I doubt that this means that children will taught that there is no God.

edit on 27-9-2013 by windword because: (no reason given)

Thats exactly what they'll be taught.

I'm not sure if you think that is a good thing or a bad thing...

Again personal beliefs play a big part here and imparting one's own beliefs onto another is morally wrong without an equal opposing view.
You should not teach a child that there is a "GOD" without proof... Belief and "faith" are no place for learning.
You should teach them that there are groups of individuals that believe in a greater being other than themselves.
You should also teach the child that this entity these people worship hold a level of technology or consciousness that seem to us like magic or
miraculous.

Personally, I have no problems with children being taught that there is no "GOD" being as currently represented by the various religions.
There is no evidence that there is a "GOD" being as portrayed; saying otherwise is pure speculation and lies.

Belief is not fact.

Again, I have no problem with people having hope in life after death... It's a common hope through-out our entire history and it has always been
governed by some "GOD" entity; which dictates your level of enjoyment in said after-life.

Thats exactly what they'll be taught.

So is it that you have a problem with the idea that children will grow up without believing that a "GOD" entity is watching their every step?

People need to be taught to be humble, to be honest, to care for others. They should be taught to honor their parents, respect those in authority.
To be patient and kind. To put others interests above their own. Be taught it takes courage and strength to be mild. Arrogance, pride, impatience,
and selfishness are defects, and are not noble traits to possess. They need to be taught to love one another.

They should not be taught nationalism. It is one of the world's great blights.

If atheism has this as its aim then it should be lauded. If not, then it too will fail mankind, and leave those who take refuge in it disappointed.

What about the right to let the parents and their childrens decides if they want to learn about atheism or religion?

Better yet, why not do instead a course (like math and history) about ethics, morality, philosophy, and religion. A course that will explain from the
beginning every forms of thoughts, that is Buddhism, Christianism, Muslim, Judeism, Atheism, Golden Rule, Philosophy, Ethics; and let the children
make up their mind about what they want to follow. Much easier, and much less controversies. Freedom of Will, not one single path imposed. Expose all
sides, let the children choose by himself.

Grimpachi
Well it was going to happen somewhere but I didn't expect this. I honestly don't have a opinion on the matter but it made me laugh and shake my head
when I read it.

Is this good or bad I can't say but I am pretty sure the church doesn't like it.

Mods please move if need be.

I can say. It's bad. It's clearly bad. Just as clearly bad as forcing kids to learn creationism. The school should be a neutral place. If
they're going to teach religion (which IMHO is just fine, and is an important factor in understanding the world and its inhabitants) they should
teach about all religions, equally. Or at least the most common handful of them.

What this decision amounts to, instead, is atheists blocking the religion of others, or even a neutral view, from being taught in schools, only
to have their religion (atheism) taught instead.

Awesome job with the continued massive hypocrisy, Militant Atheists.

Those guys really are almost every bit as bad as fundamentalist christians, in terms of cramming their view down everyone else' throats-- and
they sadly can't even recognize it. Denial is a pretty powerful force, I guess....

They are not being taught that the atheist view is correct but rather it is part of an attempt to give children a broader understanding of various
belief systems and not just the Roman Catholic dogma that has dominated Ireland's education system.

The source article gives a far more detailed explanation of the plans and the reasoning.

One of the reasons I dont like religion is because it brought forth something even worse: Anti-Religion. These people are dumb as it gets. How do you
teach "A-theism"? Other than "I dont believe in God", A-theism has no teaching and there is nothing to learn from it.

We atheists are used to being told that our existence is pointless and a waste of time without god, but we don't think so. Then, to add insult to
injury, our meaningless life will be punished in an eternity of torment, simply because your god created us without a belief or a purpose.

I'm not sure why schools, at least public schools, don't constrain their curriculum to the basics and leave the rest to parents and other
extra-curricular institutions that parents allow their children to be exposed to. I don't want to see children taught anything about matters that
are subjective from a public entity. It's a personal matter and needs to stay that way.

BrokenCircles
Regardless of the subject/topic, schoolchildren should be taught facts, not opinions.

Teaching them opinions can lead to unnecessary confusion.

Have you ever tried to discuss opinions with a child that comes from an education system that only teaches facts?

There's a reason why children can't think for themselves, its because no one lets them. It actually took me years to work out that I was an Atheist,
and it for several years in school I just felt like I was nuisance, like I was unwelcome or annoying. My parents forced me to go to Church for years
as well. Didn't help me at all. Sincerely, I'd ask you to reconsider.

Debate and opinion are important parts of education. You would have to actually stop teaching history for your statement to stand.

Do you think children should just parrot back facts? Or be encourage to formulate opinions and then discuss them with one another, mediated in a
classroom setting?

Or should they just learn and parrot the facts at school and told not to discuss opinions until they get home to their parents?

Doesn't really
matter. What 'should be' and what 'is', are rarely the same thing....

I had a Spanish class during each of my 4 years in High School. I didn't actually try, and I didn't really care. I even ended up taking the 3rd year
twice.(but that's beside the point)

My point is that I managed to pass 3 years of Spanish, yet I probably know less than 20 words.(and that's including from uno to diez. lol). After
passing 3 years of it, you'd think I'd at least know one complete sentence, but nope...... Something just aint quite right about that.

CirqueDeTruth

Seems to me that children should be taught early on how to discuss differing opinions and ideas, without resorting to fighting, name calling and
confusion. We should be teaching kids how to think, not what to think. Critical thinking.

The problem with that is that it can't really be
avoided at the home. Most kids are just gonna believe whatever their parents tell them.

No man, scientist or preacher has ever found out what we are or where we come from. Nobody yet knows what life, existence or God is, neither the
purpose of it all. We have theories, ideas, hypothesis. So this school, equally ignorant about the origins of man or the Universe, think they
should tell children which idea is and isn't the truth? How absurd.

Absolutely agree with this. In fact, when taken to it's logical conclusion atheism as a proposition of some kind represents the very height of
ignorance. That it (atheism) wants to burn and throw away the wisdom of the ages and the knowledge it may contain, while offering nothing but a very
strong assumption based in no information and no knowledge doesn't help matters, when what we really need, especially now, is to find the roots and
origins and sacred knowledge by which we might discover our true place and our true nature and in so doing come straight into an inheritance created
for our own enjoyment, from the very origin of all creation. Imagine losing that heritage even if only as a latent possibility or potentia, without
access to the means by which to re-discover it again.. forever lost in a materialist-monist and seperative "thingness" of existence, all because of "a
strong, contemptuous bias prior to investigation, which is a surefire way to keep a person in everlasting ignorance." (Herbert Spencer, Scientist,
paraphrased).

Religion is no longer anything to fear, but a staunch and militant atheism sure is because it's based and founded on ignorance which presumes to know
something and which seeks to kill and destroy something of which is has no understanding nor even the desire to understand.

I honor people's right to label themselves an atheist (even though I think that's an absurd folly), but to actively TEACH it, as some sort of noble
pursuit is kind of abhorrent but for reasons that would never occur to the atheist, even in a million years.

We atheists are used to being told that our existence is pointless and a waste of time without god, but we don't think so. Then, to add insult to
injury, our meaningless life will be punished in an eternity of torment, simply because your god created us without a belief or a purpose.

Your response deals not with the axiom of the statement it responds to.

ETA: You may consider yourself wise, but you know not of God. If a mere imperfect wicked man abhors burning his child as pinishment, how can God be
of lesser morale? It is not possible,. This pagan teaching you refer to, upheld by secret societies, and the occult, is not found in the healthful
words of truth.

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